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Short sellers in the U.S. are facing billions of dollars in potential losses as the price of %Silver continues to rally to new heights.

Silver’s price has risen 6% in recent days, sending it up to $33.60 U.S. per ounce. The industrial and precious metal’s price has now gained 50% on the year, outpacing the rise seen in gold.

While the rally in silver has been impressive, it has put short sellers at risk of substantial financial losses due to their large short positions against the metal.

Short sellers bet on the price of an asset, such as a stock or commodity, declining within a certain period.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reports that open interest in silver futures has reached 141,580 contracts, each representing about 5,000 ounces.

According to market data there is currently a total of 707.9 million ounces of silver sold short, representing about a year’s global silver production.

With silver prices continuing to rise, these short positions are estimated to be underwater by about $1.30 billion U.S.

Short sellers often bet against an asset that has enjoyed a big rally, anticipating that the rally will eventually run out of steam and the price will pullback.

Unfortunately, that has yet to happen with silver, which is on track for its best year since the earlier 1980s.